Greg Butterfield, SageCreek Partners; Blake Modersitzki, Pelion Venture Partners and Chris Lundell, CEO of CORDA, share input with Utah business leaders at Utah Technology Council industry event

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 6, 2010 – Mentor Capital and Venture Capital serve different purposes—but for a burgeoning technology industry, both are required, Greg Butterfield, Managing Partner of SageCreek Partners, and Blake Modersitzki of Pelion Venture Partners said. Together with Chris Lundell, CEO of CORDA Technologies (a company that has received both venture and mentor capital), they shared their remarks with attendees of the Utah Technology Council’s (UTC) (http://utahtechcouncil.org) recent industry breakfast hosted by Utah Valley University (UVU) (http://uvu.edu/) and sponsored by Snapp Conner PR (www.snappconner.com).

Mark Bonham of SageCreek Partners moderated the discussion.

“Of 700-1,000 business plans we review each year, we are able to invest in just 3-5 companies that meet the criteria of our fund,” said Blake Modersitzki. “There are multiple deals that have produced great outcomes we weren’t able to fund or participate in because they didn’t meet the criteria of our fund.”

“I see multiple companies I want to pass on to an organization like SageCreek Partners because they have multiple sources of funding they can direct their clients to as they are best suited, based on the nature of the deal,” Modersitzki said.

“As a company who has received funding and who is currently working with SageCreek Partners, I see a need to have both,” said Chris Lundell, CORDA CEO. “My advice is to always seek funding before the time that you need it. Also, CEOs need advisory help. In addition to venture capital, mentor capital is a tremendously necessary and valuable thing.”

“What we’re selling to our clients is ‘scar tissue,’” said Greg Butterfield, managing partner of SageCreek Partners. “Based on our collective experience of working with a number of growing companies, we are helping our portfolio companies learn from our experiences so that they don’t have to be tripped up from the lessons we’ve already learned.”

All three speakers agreed on the importance of doing ample “due diligence” on any mentor capital or venture capital source. For example, has the VC firm already invested in a direct competitor to you? That information is easy to find in advance on the VC’s company website and can save both you and the investor a great deal of time. Will the VC firm be representing your company’s best interest or will they be pressing for “unnatural exit points” based on their desire to be raising money for their upcoming fund?

In conclusion, the representatives agreed that growing companies have a strong need for both venture capital and mentor capital resources.

For more assistance, SageCreek has developed a library of business resource reports for companies that it makes available for organizations free of charge in the Advice and Library sections of its website at www.sagecreekpartners.com.